What? $50?! You're crazy! I don't think so...

January 13th, 2010 at 06:31 pm

I have two keys missing from my Dell laptop, and H key and a symbol key..so I give my mom my laptop to take to a PC shop that is in her Chamber member(she works for Chamber of Commerce) and they have the nerve to want to charge me $50! I said HECK NO...I can get either the keys online or a new keyboard for less than $10!! I almost different but I was thinking does this guy think I am stupid? So I am going to fix it myself.

Replacing keys on MOST laptops is pretty easy. Just be careful about the pressure you use to put them on. They keyboards sit directly over the motherboard. Press too hard, you can do some damage. $50 is pretty close to average for a basic bench fee. Which is probably where most of the cost is going.

I have a keyboard that was missing several keys thanks to my industrious young son. I ended up getting a replacement keyboard that plugged into the laptop in the back. That might be a viable option for you.

Even if you have to replace the keyboard to avoid damage to the mother board, that will still lead to less than $50, so you will come out ahead. I'm lucky, I have AppleCare insurance on my laptop, and it covers me for little dings or major problems so far. Good luck getting the right keys on there!
Jerry